A New Plan to “Reimagine” Caribbean Tourism

The Caribbean has long been a mosaic of sun, sea, and culture — but now it wants to be something more. With a bold new roadmap unveiled in New York last month, the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization is charting a path not just to recovery, but reinvention.

Dubbed the “Reimagine Plan 2025–2027,” the three-year strategy represents a sweeping rethink of the region’s tourism model — one that moves beyond postcard perfection toward a future built on sustainability, innovation, and shared prosperity. At its core: a commitment to transform tourism into a vehicle for empowerment and resilience, not just revenue.

“The past few years have tested the strength of our tourism industry like never before,” said CTO Secretary-General Dona Regis-Prosper. “But in true Caribbean spirit, we have adapted, rebuilt, and moved forward.”

The three-year strategy is designed to deliver concrete value to CTO member countries, with priorities including increasing regional membership, improving tourism data systems, expanding training for underserved communities, and enhancing service standards across destinations.

Barbados’ Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill, who chairs the CTO Council of Ministers and Commissioners, called the plan “a regional imperative,” noting that the time for change is now. “Let us reimagine tourism not simply as a sector, but as a vehicle for empowerment, a platform for innovation, and a source of dignity for our people,” he said.

Latia Duncombe, Director General of Tourism for The Bahamas and a member of the Reimagine Oversight Committee, emphasized the need for follow-through. “We cannot afford to treat this as just another framework,” she said. “Our ability to move the needle depends on how well we translate vision to execution.”

The plan was developed through more than two years of consultation and collaboration, and has already generated a strong sense of regional alignment. 

Rosa Harris, Director of Tourism for the Cayman Islands and former CTO Board Chair, said the plan responds directly to calls from members for more tangible value. “There was a recurring theme… CTO needs to add value,” she said. “We heard the call loud and clear.”

That value is also about regional unity in a globally competitive market, said Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett. Calling the Caribbean the most tourism-dependent region in the world, Bartlett urged stakeholders to “harmonize policies,” “put aside nationalism,” and “embrace regionalism.”